Looking for a way to use your leftover Thanksgiving turkey? Looking for a way to use the Caramelized Onions you made last week? We have you covered. Look no further than this homemade Baked Macaroni Cheese with Turkey and Caramelized Onions. The perfect fall/winter/holiday/leftover/late night/early morning/any-time-you-need-it comfort food. Read further and scroll to the bottom for the recipe!

Last weekend was a quiet girls’ weekend at the cabin. No kids. No spouses. Wine on the dock during the day and by the fireplace in the evening. Brilliantly colored leaves and fall temperatures. Long walks on a treelined streets. And comfort food. Sweet comfort food.

So let me start with a disclaimer: I am not Italian. I have visited Italy, but I have very little knowledge of authentic Italian cuisine. However, I do know what I like to eat! And this Pasta Amatriciana all started with a local restaurant which has since closed. Trust me, after tasting Pasta Amatriciana you won’t care if it is authentic or not. Best of all you won’t believe how simple it is!

I know, right? Who are these haters? Now although I’m still not sure that is completely true, I will admit that sometimes a really good hearty dinner sounds good too (maybe followed by cookie dough?). And I guess if I’m going to be binging on cookie dough (and I am) then I better try to balance things with some vegetables. Enter Slow Cooker Beef and Vegetable Ragu. (And if you don’t have a slow cooker, don’t worry, I’ve got that covered too!)

As meals go, this one checks all of the boxes. Easy to make. Kid friendly. Hearty. Adaptable. And as the days and evenings get busier (anyone else feel like they are on a constant Merry-Go-Round?) this Slow Cooker Beef and Vegetable Ragu is a good one to come home to.

Happy one year Blogiversary to us! We’ve been officially bringing you delicious food for ONE FULL YEAR! And what a year it was! In fact I’m not sure any other year has ever gone so fast! Our little blog duo has officially seen a new baby born (congrats Holly), a preschooler whose world was rocked by a new baby sister, a child who started kindergarten, and a teenager who has hit her stride. Holly and I are both another year older and wiser in our full time careers and yes, we’re both still married (Holly 10 years and myself 18 years) despite crazy chaotic schedules and demands (yay, guys-thanks for hanging in there with us!). But even more exciting, we’re both still loving blogging and bringing you our favorite recipes! For me, this would include this Buffalo Bacon Macaroni and Cheese which is pure, unadulterated decadence! …

As a busy mama, I have come to really appreciate a quick, one-pot meal. Less pots = less clean up and more time with my family and these days, that is worth everything. This One Pot Pasta with Tomato, Spinach, and Mozzarella fits right into my crazy schedule and is gobbled up by my hungry husband and toddler alike. Filled with healthy ingredients available at any grocery store (in other words, I can grab everything in 10 minutes on my way home from work!), this pasta dish is hearty, healthy, and on your table in under 3o minutes. The recipe is based off of a recent feature in Cooking Light Magazine, one of my go to sources for fast and fresh dinners. I’ve adapted the dish to suit my family’s tastes and I hope you love it. It is most definitely becoming a family favorite! …

Over 70 degrees here in Minneapolis yesterday, which as most of you know, is unheard of early in March here in the frozen tundra! For all of us here in the Midwest, shedding our layers, basking in the sunshine, out reconnecting with our neighbors as everyone comes into the great outdoors, we are needing to shift our menus. We find ourselves moving away from the heavy of the winter and towards the bright colors and textures of the spring. For me, one of those “welcome to spring” foods is orzo….

Ravioli with Rosemary Mushroom Sauce, makes me hungry just thinking about it! You may have heard about our epic dinner party this week, and if you haven’t, trust me you will, as we plan to explore the art of the dinner party in a blog post coming up soon. This was an old fashioned dinner party, complete with eight plated courses. Six guests (plus Holly and I), sitting at a large table, enjoying a delicious food experience. The dinner party is an art that it is high time we resurrect! (The complete dinner party menu is up on Twitter-so if you are unable to wait, you can check it out @withtwospoons)

As Holly and I were going over plans for this dinner party, we decided we wanted to serve a pasta dish before our main course. What to do, what to do? Preferrably, something not too difficult. We really wanted the course to look elegant. The pasta had to taste exceptional. That is when a ravioli presented with a simple sauce rose to the top of the list. Unfortunately the first recipe I tried did not work as written and we didn’t have much time to figure something else out. We had to take a leap of faith and stick to what we knew-wine and butter. Turns out, sometimes, out of the simplest ingredients, comes the most divine flavor! And thus Ravioli with Rosemary Mushroom Sauce was born!

Not only was this simple to make, we also found you could stick the sauce in a small crock pot, set it on low (or even warm), and serve it when the time was right-perfect for a multi-course dinner. Topped with some parmesan cheese and a garnish of rosemary, this ravioli received high praise at our dinner party. I promise you this one is truly simple and quick to make. Hmmm…might even make a nice dinner for Valentine’s Day!

This Ravioli with Rosemary Mushroom Sauce is both tasty and beautiful. This recipe can be easily split in half for serving to a smaller group.

Author: Adapted from a recipe found on The Chew

Recipe type: pasta

Serves: 8-10 servings (appetizer size)

Ingredients

2 pounds cheese ravioli

8 Tablespoons butter, divided

1 Tablespoon olive oil

2 8-ounce containers of fresh cremini mushrooms, chopped into small bite site pieces

1 teaspoon kosher salt (plus extra for seasoning if needed)

2 shallots, sliced

5 cloves of garlic, minced

1 cup of white wine

3 Sprigs of rosemary

grated parmesan cheese for garnish

shaved parmesan cheese for garnish

8 tips of rosemary sprigs (approximately 1 inch pieces) for garnish

Instructions

Start water boiling water for pasta in a deep pot. Add salt to pasta water (optional).

Heat olive oil in a sauté pan over medium heat.

Melt 4 Tablespoons of butter in hot pan.

Saute mushrooms and salt in the melted butter and olive oil for approximately 3 minutes

Add rosemary sprigs, shallots and garlic to mushrooms and sauté until shallots are soft, approximately 5 minutes.

Add wine and reduce until wine is reduced to ¼ cup.

While wine is reducing, add pasta to boiling water and simmer according to directions on ravioli package.

Drain ravioli and keep warm.

After wine is almost fully reduced (to a ¼ cup or less), remove mushroom mixture from heat.

Taste and add salt if needed.

Remove rosemary sprigs from mixture.

Add remaining 4 Tablespoons of butter and allow to melt.

Place desired amount of ravioli on a plate (or in a bowl), add a spoonful of rosemary mushroom sauce, garnish with a sprinkle of grated parmesan, a few shreds of shaved parmesan, and the tip of a rosemary sprig.